Real Estate & Property Law

New Book: Property Rights - Eminent Domain and Regulatory Takings Re-Examined (2010)

By Robert Thomas (inversecondemnation.com)

I recently picked up a copy of Property Rights - Eminent Domain and Regulatory Takings Re-Examined (Bruce L. Benson, ed., Independent Institute 2010), available on-line here.

At 299 pages and with 13 entries, I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing yet. But after an initial skim, a few of the chapters stand out: Steven Eagle on Assembling Land for Urban Development - The Case for Owner Participation, Ilya Somin on The Limits of Backlash - Assessing the Political Response to Kelo, and Scott Bullock on The Inadequacy of the Planning Process for Protecting Property Owners From the Abuse of Eminent Domain for Private Development. 

We will post more as we get further into the book, but for now, here's the publisher's summary: 

The U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. New London, has become a dramatic focal point for the broad use of eminent domain by the government, and has resulted in a widespread backlash. State legislatures all over the country have responded to the backlash by considering, and often attempting to impose, new constraints on the ability of local governments to take property from one private party and transfer it to another. There has also been a revival of academic interest in the issues of eminent domain and of takings. Property Rights explores the uses and abuses of eminent domain and regulatory takings in four areas: proposed constraints on the use of eminent domain, compensation issues in theory and practice, eminent domain from a public choice perspective, and the spillover costs of takings. This comprehensive book brings together a diverse group of scholars and experts to explain the implications of this decision. Contributors include the attorney who represented Susette Kelo before the U.S. Supreme Court, the legal scholar who wrote Regulatory Takings, and experts on land value determination, land-use policy, environmental regulation, regulatory policy, entrepreneurial activities, and economic behavior.

Worth reading.

Full post as published by inversecondemnation on July 20, 2010 (boomark / email).